Residential treatment centers have always steered a course between bureaucracy and anarchy. The conventional professional wisdom in the United States holds that residential group care programs for children and youth are intrinsically flawed. This volume seeks to remedy this perception by making a case for the adoption of Israeli and European practices in such residences. The book opens with a report on residential programs in Israel and draws comparisons with their European counterparts. The comparisons are then followed by practical approaches to the enhancement of such programs in the United States. Six different Israeli programs were investigated, and this information was mined for its relevance to U.S. programs. Five articles then enhance the theme of residential education with topics that include: comparisons between Israeli and European experiences in residential education; the conceptual foundations of developmental theory for residential education; human development in group care; the role of national policy in residential education; and the implications of the African American experience for residential education. The philosophical theme that runs throughout the book emphasizes the notion that types of youth care services which best serve their target populations are rooted in developmental education rather than in a treatment framework. (RJM)